Means for feeding irregular objects to a conveyer



July 2, 1940. 2,206,766

FOR FEEDING IRREGULAR OBJECTS 1'0 A CONVEYER P. CUSHNIIE MEANS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 17, 1937 INVEN TOR PETE/P CZ/SAW/E v ATTORNEY I lengthwise thereof, down which a supply of rails at one end of the car. When the motor 45 is 5 PatentedJuly 2 ,1940 v i uNiTso STATES PATENT orrics MEANS FOR FEEDING IRREGULAR OBJECTS TO A CONVEYER Peter Cushnie, White Plains, N. Y., assignor to Sperr Products, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corp poration of New York Application November 17, 1937, Serial No. 174,947 2 Claims. (01. 198-25) This invention relates to a method and means ll, it. A plurality of such star wheels are profor feeding. objects to conveying or propelling vided lengthwise of the car, in the present inmechanism and is especially designed to feed obstance, two being shown. The lowermost rail jects having an irregular cross-section. It is I2 will rest upon the horizontal arms it of the diflicult to feed said objects continuously to a star wheels. In order to prevent more than one 5 conveyer in such manner that the objects occupy rail from resting upon the horizontal arms 55 a given position on the conveyer so that they may as the rails slide down the inclines, there may be transported in said position to the next operbe provided a detent mechanism. which consists ating station. This invention is illustrated speof a lever pivoted at 2! and having a form cifically in connection with feeding steel rails wardly projecting arm 22 and a rearwardly pro- 1 to a wconveyer designed to carrysaid rails to a jecting arm 23. The latter arm is pivotally conwelding machine as disclosed in the pending patnected to a lever 2A having an upwardly proent application of G. L. Jones and C. B. Etoede, jecting detent or tongue at its forward end Serial No. 169,222, filed October 15, 1937, for substantially in vertical alignment with the pivot 15 Method and means for welding rails. Neverthe- 26 betweenarm 23 and arm 24. A tension spring 15 less, it will be obvious from the following deit normally pulls downwardly upon arms 23 scription of the invention that it hasgeneral and 24 to maintain the detent 25 below the applicability to allsimilar cases wherein objects surface of incline ll, so that the first rail l2 having an irregularly shaped cross-section must is freeto slide thereover without being obstructed glJbe delivered to a conveyer in predetermined posiby the detent 25. As the rail 62 rides upon the tion. j arm it it also rests upon arm 22 to swing said Further objects and advantages of thisinveharm downwardly around pivot iii to cause the tion will becomeapparent inthe following dedetent 25 to rise against the action of tension scription thereof. spring 30. The parts are of such proportions that if; Inthe accompanying drawings, p the detent 25 will be lifted after the base 3i of 25 Fig. 1 is aperspective View of the feeding mechrail 13 has passed said detent and before the anism mounted on a rail car. head 32 of rail l3 has reached the detent. There- Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective ofa portion fore the detentwill be raised in time to catch of the mechanism shown in F'igfil. beneath the head 32 of the succeeding rail l3 Referring to the drawings, 1 have shown my and hold thesame against further downward invention applied to a rail car, ocause the form movement plurality of Such (13811135 3Y6 p of the invention herein disclosed is particularly vided along the length of e a T e rema adapted for use in connection with the mobile ing rails 14, etc., slide down until they touch each rail welding train disclosed in the said patent other, the supply of rails being held back by the 1 t ll application of Jones and Roede, but it will readdetent '25. p

ily become apparent as the description proceeds 1 The single rail l2 resting upon the arms l5 that the car is not essential and that the mechaof the star wheels is now in position to be denism may be mounted on a fixed base. Further, livered to the conveyer or propelling mechanism. it will become apparent that although the dei In this instance the prop mechanism y scription applies specificallyto steel rails, that comprise a plurality of power driven rollers 46 40 the invention has applicability to other objects journaled in brackets 4! upon a frame 42 mounthaving diilerent irregular cross-section. In this ed on the base of car ill, the shafts of said rollers case, however, the device is shown as mounted 40 having sprocket wheels t3 fixed thereto from on a flat car If! having a series of inclines H which operate chains M driven from a motor 45 is adapted to be delivered. Thus, a crane or operating, the series of chain and sprocket drives similar object may lift the rails above the top of i is set in motion to cause rollers all to rotate, the inclines H and deposit the same on said and any object resting upon said rollers will be inclines so that they may drop by gravity to the fed along said rollers to the next operating posilowermost point permitted by the mechanism. tion. r

The rails are deposited upon the inclines on their For delivering the rails successively to the rollsidesyas shown at l2v l3 and M, and will slide etrs 40, the said wheels are operated through a downwardly untl the first of the: rails rests" upon quarter turn, since there are four arms to each a horizontal arm l5 of a star wheel which in star wheel. By rotating the star wheels a quarfia thepresent case comprises four such arms l5, l6, ter turn, it will be seen that the rail 12 will be turned up into upright position by the time arms I5 have reached the vertical position. By this The position of the star Wheel remains such that arm l8 moves somewhat below the horizontal position to be out of the way after said rail is Detents it on the ends of the star Wheel arms .For operating the star wheel arms through quarter turn steps, so that the rail 1 2 may be positioned in upright position as shown at P2, there may be provided on each shaft 56 of the star star wheel to prevent over-running.

As the rail 12 is carried to operating position reached the horizontal position. As soon as rail l3 rests upon arms "5 it also rests upon arms 22, causing the detents engage beneath the heads of rail I4 which has now slid down the incline along with all the rails positioned above rail I4 on the incline.

For controlling the pistons within cylinders 60, v

25 to be lifted so that they within cylinders 60 rection. The valve to the next operating station.

- In accordance ent statutes, I have herein described the prin- Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character described, a

wheel mechanism through predetermined angular said star-wheel mechanism through each step being adapted to deliver an object to said propelling mechanism.

2. In a device of the character described, a mechanism for propelling objects in a horizontal plane, star-wheel mechanism for delivering the objects to said propelling mechanism, means for feeding objects by gravity substantially into said plane and into engagement with said star-wheel operative tates.

PETER CUSHNIE Z the rollers is to be delivered 

